Messages

1

PowerShot / Re: P&S - Faster lens or bigger sensor?

« on: February 27, 2013, 07:37:24 PM »

If the bigger sensor wins in good lighting and it's a wash in low-light, well, that makes the decision a quite easy one.
Thanks!

Yeah, you might want to check that claim first. I won't repeat my earlier post, but I claim that larger sensors make the biggest difference in low light.

2

PowerShot / Re: P&S - Faster lens or bigger sensor?

« on: February 27, 2013, 07:17:22 PM »

The bigger sensor will perform better in favourable lighting (e.g. when you don't have to crank up the ISO). In less than ideal lighting, it's a wash (though again the difference in maximum aperture may be smaller at the wide end in which case the camera with the larger sensor may still do better)

I'm not a P&S expert at all, but I think you got that backwards. A larger sensor, all else being equal, will perform better in low light than a smaller sensor. In bright light, every sensor tends to do well (again, not considering every other camera component). Even the microscopic sensor in my phone can produce decent images in full daylight.

3

Canon General / Re: Digital Rev!

« on: February 18, 2013, 01:44:34 PM »

Kai lost a few rep points there for sure.

You really think the production crew has anything to do with the online store? Kai did what Kai does - he's not supposed to treat the equipment like it's going to be sold as new afterwards. It's the store's fault for letting the review camera back into their inventory. Probably an honest mistake, but a potentially costly one.

He represents DR in the public's eye. Tell me where did I say he had anything to do with the screwup? Are you just in the mood to be a net corrector?

I'm slightly offended that you're accusing me of being a nit-picker.

"Kai lost a few rep points there for sure." As near as I can tell, you were using English, and in most forms of English, that statement would imply that Kai had something to do with the mix-up, beyond being a representative of the name. You're saying he actively did something - he "lost"... What exactly did he do to lose points?

If you're more deliberate with your words, you won't attract so-called net correctors. Saying something like "This sure looks bad for Kai" more accurately represents your point.

4

Canon General / Re: Digital Rev!

« on: February 18, 2013, 09:37:14 AM »

Kai lost a few rep points there for sure.

You really think the production crew has anything to do with the online store? Kai did what Kai does - he's not supposed to treat the equipment like it's going to be sold as new afterwards. It's the store's fault for letting the review camera back into their inventory. Probably an honest mistake, but a potentially costly one.

5

Canon General / Re: Bag question

« on: February 15, 2013, 12:25:13 AM »

My main shooting bag is a Thinktank Retrospective 30 and I love it. They claim it can hold "two pro-sized bodies plus 3-6 lenses" but I don't think it's the best to hold camera bodies, especially if they have grips. My bag usually holds 5 or 6 lenses, flash, batteries, and a small "hero kit" for the occasional fix (tissues, Tide pen, safety pins, etc.).

The bigger Retrospective 40 or Retrospective 50 would probably be better for holding lenses and bodies.

Just saw your $150 price range... These are all a bit above that, but they're fantastically made. I don't think Thinktank knows how to make a flimsy bag.

6

Lenses / Re: Lens Rebates

« on: February 13, 2013, 10:56:18 AM »

Dang, neuro, you beat me to it.

Yes, their pattern suggests that they like to put a month or two between rebate cycles, so I would guess that more likely than not they'll have a spring or summer rebate that covers lenses like the 50L, but that's only based on rebate history.

They seem to spend more time in rebate season than not, but I think that's standard practice. Post high prices and have constant sales to give the illusion of a good deal. And since they're enforcing minimum pricing now, they have complete control over us.

7

EOS-M / Re: EOS M Firmware Coming Soon

« on: February 12, 2013, 10:57:46 AM »

...

Still, if Fuji is able to get the AF performance the X100S has in the preview videos, it's a little disappointing that the M has to be so sluggish.

Please don't compare EOS M with X100 with regards to AF performance.  Fuji has a smaller sensor thus focusing is a little bit better.  Focus is much more forgiving for smaller sensors.

waynew beat me to the punch, but yeah - You might want to check your facts before you make claims like that.

EOS M Specs - APS-C sensor: 22.3mm x 14.9 mm
X100S Specs - APS-C sensor: 23.6mm x 15.8mm

A little bit of a tangent, but Fuji is proving that APS-C sensors with built-in phase-detection can perform quite well in autofocus. Of course, they've been in the mirrorless game longer than Canon.

8

Lighting / Re: Professional Sports Lighting

« on: February 11, 2013, 02:23:51 PM »

There was never any thought of abuse on the lighting setup, more so I wanted to find out if they were using any type of secured channel was the reason that I originally brought the PW. I did end up firing off about 10-15 shots during the evening. That being said, I was there as a sports fan and not a photographer.

One guy a few seats away from me must have known that I had the ability to fire the strobes as with the PW attached it looked a little out of the norm.

I wasn't implying that you had any thought of abuse. I was still playing the hypothetical thought experiment game. Even the "secure" channels can't be 100% effective, because with the right setup, a 4-digit code isn't hard to break.

To play the other side a bit, if you wanted to be less conspicuous, you could just put the "pocket" in PocketWizard - run a sync cable from your camera to the PW in your pocket. It would be a lot harder to notice a fan who has a small cable coming out of their camera than a big Plus2.

The other thing is that they usually run a bunch of strobes at lower power, and their flash is so fast and from such a high angle, most people don't even notice when they fire. You'd have to go nuts on the trigger button to get anyone to notice, and I doubt the media photographers would ever have a problem with recycle times or overheating.

Still... It's wrong. Don't do it.

9

EOS-M / Re: EOS M Firmware Coming Soon

« on: February 11, 2013, 12:54:24 PM »

anyone with high hopes that this FW update will bring a noticeable performance boost of the AF system?

I'm hoping this will be the case. I'm currently renting an M to try it out, and I can see where all the autofocus complaints are coming from. If you're comparing it to a point and shoot, it's fairly normal. If you compare it to a DSLR, it's almost comically slow.

Supposedly, it has the same built-in phase-detect pixels on the main sensor as the T4i. How quick is the live-view focusing on a T4i? Because the EOS M should theoretically be able to perform just as well.

Currently, it sure does act like a purely contrast-based system. Phase detection should be able to tell which direction it's out of focus, so it shouldn't have to hunt as much, but as much as the M is hunting around, it seems like it has no idea which way it's out of focus. Maybe a firmware update can adjust the balance phase and contract detection.

Still, if Fuji is able to get the AF performance the X100S has in the preview videos, it's a little disappointing that the M has to be so sluggish.

10

Lighting / Re: Professional Sports Lighting

« on: February 11, 2013, 02:30:06 AM »

Y'all are doing a really good job at stating the obvious. Of course, using any such system without permission is wrong. Of course, abusing it to the point of failure or damage is something you can be prosecuted for. Using it at all should get you kicked out, but if your goal is to abuse it, it would be a lot harder to find out who and where you are (a Plus2 in your pocket is hard to spot).

I think so much of the existing technology has dealt only with responsiveness, reliability, and range (alliteration! sounds like a marketing brochure) and nothing has really been done to prevent misuse. The PocketWizard frequency and code schemes seem to me to prevent accidental interference from non-PW sources. Nothing I've seen can prevent another PW (plus2 or otherwise) from using a setup, apart from obscurity, but that's not really effective against someone who is trying to use your system.

I wonder what it would take to make a flash system where each transmitter had some kind of secure code scheme. But any such system would definitely add some kind of lag to the flash activation, and it could only get delayed so much before it's not usable as a reliable flash system. Maybe a compromise would be a serial number on each transmitter that gets transmitted along with the sync signal. This wouldn't be 100% secure, and it would be a pain to train the receiver to accept new transmitters, but it would make misuse a lot harder to accomplish.

11

Lighting / Re: Professional Sports Lighting

« on: February 10, 2013, 10:55:28 PM »

I doubt there's anything illegal about taking over their house flash system. It could be considered breaking a rule, but I can't imagine a law you'd be breaking. The most they could do is make you leave, assuming they found out it was you. If you were legitimately shooting, you'd have to do it from your seat, because you don't have media credentials, and a spectator shooting with a PlusII is a little suspicious.

It's an interesting thought experiment though. What would facilities people do if spectators kept sabotaging their flash remote systems? Are there any commercial radio systems that have encryption or some other form of protection?

12

EOS Bodies / Re: Need seasoned advice - keep 5D Mark II or NO?

« on: February 09, 2013, 10:27:53 AM »

I'm something of a luddite - I figure that as long as my camera isn't the determining factor in my image quality, it doesn't need upgrading.

I don't think this is being a luddite; I think it's being practical and resisting the natural technolust we all have. It's a very important principle - Don't upgrade until you reach the limits of what you have.

If you're just getting into full-frame, you probably won't notice the difference between a 5D2, 6D, 5D3, or 1DX. The 5D2 has been a workhorse camera for many years. It may be older, but it's been a powerful tool for countless pros during that time. For as many people that used a 5D2, there weren't a lot of complaints during its reign. Of course the newer models are better in many ways, but most of the improvements are expanding the limitations of the newer cameras, not fixing problems of the older 5D2. (Note: I said "most". They did fix a few of the 5D2's minor quirks.)

That said, my 5D2 is slated for an upgrade this year, probably to the 6D. It's my second body for wedding shooting, so the 6D's improved low-light performance and autofocus (I'm mostly a center-focus-point user anyways) will provide a big benefit over my 5D2. My primary body is a 5D3, and it has really shown the limitations of the 5D2 in my shooting, but it has taken many years for me to get to where I can tell the difference.

Stop worrying about upgrading your equipment and just go out and take great pictures !!!

The 5D2 is a fantastic camera and you'll notice little difference between it and the 6D or 5D3.

I have two 5D2's and they are perfect for professional quality results.

Save your money and have a nice holiday with the girlfriend (just don't tell the wife ...) lol 

Keep the 5D II, still a good body. Get better glass and enjoy shooting!

+1000 each

13

Lenses / Re: Would you buy a new 28-300 L IS II lens and for how much?

« on: February 06, 2013, 10:36:17 PM »

be a good one for weddings, not so many lens changes...

Dear God, no! 3.7 pounds? I'll take my bag of lenses for weddings. I like a heavy camera because it's inherently more stable, but a 3.7 lb lens on a ~3 lb camera (add on a flash too) for 8 hours is excessive.

This lens is good for several uses, but I would not count weddings among them.

14

Lighting / Re: Yongnuo st-e2?

« on: February 06, 2013, 07:03:10 PM »

I agree with PWP that you should skip optical and go straight to radio. They're generally more reliable, and their range is typically farther than optical systems.

I personally recommend the Phottix Strato II transmitters/receivers. They're about $100 for a trans/recv pair, and each receiver is around $60.

They have a fantastic range (advertised 150 meters, but I found 100-120 meters were the limit of 100% reliability) and they have four channels and four groups. The group feature is very neat - the transmitter has A,B,C,D buttons and each receiver has a group selector switch. You can quickly and easily turn on and off any combination of groups. I use this during wedding receptions with several flashes on lightstands to decide moment by moment which flashes I want to fire.

If you ever need to remotely fire your camera, the receivers come with this ability built-in (even comes with the camera cable).

Also, the transmitter has an on-camera E-TTL pass-through. This lets you use a E-TTL flash on your camera with the transmitter on or off. Very handy.

Okay, end of sales pitch.

EDIT: Just read PWP's link to the YN-622C review.. those sound pretty awesome. Definitely look into them. E-TTL radio remote for a little less than the Strato II's? Amazing.

15

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 2nd camera body with a twist -

« on: February 05, 2013, 02:44:41 PM »

I just got through saying in another thread that you can only compare specs. There are no inherent artistic qualities in camera bodies that are comparable. It's entirely too subjective to mean anything to anyone but yourself. Your only options are to base your decision entirely on specs or Buy All The Things! and compare them yourself. Even if someone who has owned all of these cameras gives you their artistic opinion, it's just their opinion and others might feel something else.

And whatever you do, don't compare images unless they're straight-out-of-camera. Any editing apart from cropping makes it nearly impossible to tell which camera is better for you. You'd be basing everything on someone's photo editing abilities.

Buy a 6D or 5D3, not because of the "bells and whistles" but because they have modern, state-of-the-art sensors. Canon isn't really just fluffing around, putting lipstick on old technology. They're allowing more possibilities in terms of low-light quality, high-ISO noise, etc. (Ha! Listen to me - I sound like a TV commercial.)

My personal, inexperienced (never owned a 1D-series) opinion is that 1D's are overkill for portraiture. The 1Ds line used to have an edge in image quality, but I don't think that's the case any more. They're mostly sports cameras now. Sure the 1Dx is phenomenal, but if you ask me, without it's bells & whistles (top-notch AF and crazy FPS that would send any bride running) it's not a huge difference from the 5D3 or 6D. Of course, again, no experience with 1D's, but on paper, the 5D3 has roughly the same sensor, if not slightly better. To use a 1Dx for portraiture would be like driving to work in a Lamborghini.

I'm laughing to myself imagining a quiet ceremony in a beautiful church erupting in 1Dx machine-gun fire. I know, it has a silent shutter mode like the 5D3 and 6D, but it's still a funny thought...